...RUNNING HEAD: AGENCY STRUCTURE Assignment #1: Agency Structure Jamisha B. Breland Professor Stephen Kenealy PAD 505: Public Budgeting and Finance April 22, 2012 Strayer University Determine where each agency lies in the administrative structure of the federal government. Identify it as an executive department or an independent agency. U.S. Corps of Engineers: An executive department and the primary federal manager of the nation’s water resources. The Corps build and maintain much of the nation’s navigation and flood damage reduction infrastructure and regulates the issuance of Clean Water Act dredge and fill and other permits to the private sector. For over 225 years, the Corps has transformed our nation’s rivers and coasts, constructing 11,000 miles of inland waterway navigation channels, 8,500 miles of levees and seawalls, and more than 600 dams (Sanet 2009). The agency also dredges hundreds of millions of cubic yards of material each year from the nation’s rivers and harbors and when Congress added environmental protection to the Corps mission areas, it grew to include some of the nation’s most controversial restoration projects. While Corps projects produced positive economic benefits, it caused environmental harm as well example (freshwater species North America and Hurricane Katrina coastal wetlands (Sanet 2009). The Bureau of Land Management: An independent agency and a small agency with a big mission...
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...Running head: Agency Structure Agency Structure Roshunda Pitts PAD 505-Public Budget and Finance Dr. Chazes July 20, 2012 Strayer University U.S. Army Corps of Engineers The U.S. Army corps of Engineers agency lies in the administrative structure of the federal government and is located in the executive branch as an independent agency of government in the Department of Defense. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is a federal agency. The U.S. Corps of Engineers is made up of both army and civilian personnel. The Army Corps makes up the world's largest (public) engineering, design and construction business in the United States and all over the world. The U.S. Army Corps was developed to provide public engineering services in both peace and war to assist in providing security to the Nation. The Corps further works with partners all over the world to assist in this endeavor. The U.S. Army Corps builds and structures in which assists in training two great military forces; the Army and the Air Force. Both Armed Forces use these structures for training when they are deployed for war. The U.S. Army Corps develops security measures for Homeland Security and FEMA or Federal Emergency Management Agency. They assist with security planning, research development, quick response and overall protection. Emergency response falls under two major public laws (1) the Flood Control and Coastal Emergency Act and (2) the Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency...
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...Agency Structure Miatika Carter Strayer University 505 Public Budgeting and Finance Dr. Keller October 27, 2012 U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Agency In determining where each agency lies in the administrative structure of the federal government the United States Agencies involved in the administrative structure of the federal government were the military departments such as the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. The Army corps of engineers developed strategies to restores and protects the Nation’s water resources through studies of potential projects involving some construction of projects. Working with other Federal agencies the Corps helps communities respond and recover from floods and other natural disasters just like FEMA in case of emergencies. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is considered independent agency because it is an establishment created by Congress to address concerns that go beyond the scope of ordinary legislation. These agencies are responsible for keeping the government and economy running smoothly (Headquarters). Environmental Protection Agency There is the Environmental Protection Agency involved in protecting the human health, the environment as well as it is an agency established in the executive branch as an independent agency. As part of a government efforts to reduce spending are done mostly through support of funding to reduce water infrastructure earmarks as well as others that would help to fund the United States. United States Fish and Wildlife...
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...power of the executive branch lies with the United States President. The President is responsible for implementing and enforcing the laws written by Congress and appoints the heads of the federal agencies, including the Cabinet. The Cabinet and independent federal agencies are responsible for the daily enforcement and administration of federal laws (Our Government, 2011). These executive departments and independent agencies have missions and responsibilities. First, there is the executive department known as the U. S. Department of Agriculture (USDA).The USDA develops and executes policies on farming, agriculture, and food. This department aims to meet the needs of farmers and ranchers; promoting agricultural trade and production; assuring food safety; protecting natural resources; fostering rural communities; and ending hunger within the United States and abroad (About USDA, 2011). The United States Secretary of Agriculture, Tom Vilsack, oversees this department and its seventeen executive agencies. One of those agencies is the U. S. Forest Service. The U. S. Forest Service manages public lands in national forests and grasslands. It is also the largest forestry research organization in the world, and provides technical and financial assistance to state and private forestry agencies (About USDA, 2011). The U. S. Forest Service submits its budget requests to the U. S. Senate...
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...Journal of Financial Economics 3 (1976) 305-360. Q North-Holland Publishing Company THEORY OF THE FIRM: MANAGERIAL BEHAVIOR, AGENCY COSTS AND OWNERSHIP STRUCTURE Michael C. JENSEN and William H. MECKLING* University of Rochester, Rochester, NY 14627, U.S.A. Received January 1976, revised version received July 1976 This paper integrates elements from the theory of agency. the theory of property rights and the theory of finance to develop a theory of the ownership structure of the firm. We define the concept of agency costs, show its relationship to the ‘separation and control’ issue, investigate the nature of the agency costs generated by the existence of debt and outside equity, demonstrate who bears these costs and why, and investigate the Pareto optirnality of their existence. We also provide a new definition of the firm, and show how our analysis of the factors influencing tht- creation and issuance of debt and equity claims is a special case of the supply side of the completeness of markets problem. The directors of such [joint-stock] companies, however, being the managers rather of other people’s money than of their own, it cannot well be expected, that they should watch over it with the same anxious vigilance with which the partners in a private copartnery frcqucntly watch over their own. Like the stewards of a rich man, they are apt to consider attention to small matters as not for their master’s honour, and very easily give thcmsclvcs a dispensation from...
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...fundamental problems in the social sciences in a way that was unconventional at the time.Dec 4, 2014 The theory of structuration is a social theory of the creation and reproduction of social systems that is based in the analysis of both structure and agents (see structure and agency), without giving primacy to either. (who is associated with adaptive structuration theory)Google question DeSanctis and Poole adapted Giddens' theory to study the interaction of groups and organizations with information technology, and called it Adaptive Structuration Theory. AST criticizes the technocentric view of technology use and emphasizes the social aspects.Sep 7, 2010 In adaptive structuration theory poole wants group members to understand.. that they create groups as they act within them what is adaptive structuration theory? used to explain how group and organizational social systems are produced and reproduced what would be an example of adaptive structuration theory? describing the culture of a class (does the media shape you or do you shape the media?) social structure shapes peoples.. actions; while at same time being shaped by their actions structure and action are.. simultaneously interacting what is duality of structure? structures both enabling and constraining What did poole say dynamics of groups were? far too complicated to be reduced to a few propositions or a predictable chain of event what do group remembers affect? Outcomes Giddens suggests that people...
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...Agency Costs, Mispricing, and Ownership Structure* Sergey Chernenko Ohio State University C. Fritz Foley Harvard Business School and NBER Robin Greenwood Harvard Business School and NBER March 2012 Abstract Standard theories of corporate ownership assume that because markets are efficient, insiders ultimately bear all agency costs that they create and therefore have a strong incentive to minimize conflicts of interest with outside investors. We argue that if equity is overvalued, however, mispricing offsets agency costs and can induce a controlling shareholder to list equity. Higher valuations may support listings associated with greater agency costs. We test the predictions that follow from this idea on a sample of publicly listed subsidiaries in Japan. Subsidiaries in which the parent sells a larger stake and subsidiaries with greater scope for expropriation by the parent firm are more overpriced at listing, and minority shareholders fare poorly after listing as mispricing corrects. Parent firms often repurchase subsidiaries at large discounts to valuations at the time of listing and experience positive abnormal returns when repurchases are announced. * We thank Malcolm Baker, Mihir Desai, Masako Egawa, Alp Ercil, Yasushi Hamao, Sam Hanson, Naoki Kamiyama, David Matsa, David Scharfstein, Andrei Shleifer, Jeremy Stein, Kenji Wada, Lucy White, and seminar participants at Georgetown, Harvard, IESE, the...
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...Centralized Verses Decentralized: A Tale of Two Structures Leroy Dowdy Walden University Dr. Gayle Grant 08 April 2012 Centralized Verses Decentralized: A Tale of Two Structures The history of information technology (IT) has been well documented over the previous decades. The contributions of IT vary, but perhaps the most notable is the influence on organizational structuring. Prior to the information age, organizations predominately operated within a centralized structure (Mukherji, 2002). In a centralized structure, decision-making resided at senior levels and was executed within a formal structure. Conversely, a decentralized structure distributes decision-making in an informal environment. The centralized structure was effective, in part, due to decision-making authorities being reserved for upper management (Hitt & Brynjolfsson, 1997). The two case studies presented excellent examples of how organizational structure influences the use of IT. The use of social action theory to frame the research was insightful. Social action theory suggests that organization’s structures are based on traditions, policies, and habits, but may change if any of these factors are changed, replaced, or not acted upon (Giddens, 1984). This author will examine the challenges faced and the strategic responses implemented by both universities. Challenges and Strategic Responses The maturation of IT made the handling, sorting, and storing of hard copy documents obsolete. The...
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...organizational structure as complex and varied as that of a criminal justice organization, one must examine the existence of conflicting goals. It is the ultimate goal of every organization to meet established and expected goals. This is a direct measure of that organizations effectiveness. However, when an agency has numerous and complex goals, is it desirable that these goals may conflict? Stojkovic et al., 2008 point out that organizations may seek to attain satisfactory levels of all of their goals, as opposed to attempting to entirely meeting every goal. While certain goals of an agency may conflict with others, this is not necessarily negative, but simply a constraint that may influence the outcome of these goals (Stojkovic et al., 2008). For example, while it may seem unreasonable that a known criminal be released from jail and acquitted due to a legal technicality in our judicial system, this due process is essential to our countries liberty (Stojkovic et al., 2008). Criminal justice organizations are, in their nature complex and there are a variety of external and environmental issues that influence these agencies. Their primary goal is to maintain order and reduce crime. While attempting to attain these goals, police agencies come into contact with several other organizations with varying goals of their own. For example in the course of their function the police agency encounters the prosecutor’s office; the division of corrections; federal level law enforcement agencies; as...
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...State Agency Initiative Project Clinton Alford MGT/522 – Public Administration: Institutions and Processes August 11, 2014 Instructor Eddie Gordon State Agency Initiative Project The focus of this project will center on South Carolina Initiative called “Strengthening Families South Carolina.” In this project, the subject to discuss will be to recognize where this initiative began at the state level and how it was supported. Most important, the subject to discuss is how the initiative influences local government and communities and recognize how this initiative was implemented at the agency using the personnel structure. The subject to discuss in this project is also to deliberate if privatization is a better alternative to carry out this initiative. Finally, I will present an organizational chart of the South Carolina Department of Social Services that displays the relationship between the state government’s structure with the local government’s structure, along with each component’s function and how privatization influences both state and local structures. Identify where this initiative originated at the state level and how it was supported The South Carolina State Initiative “Strengthening Families South Carolina” is conducted by the Children’s Trust of South Carolina (SCDSS, 2012). Most important, this initiative is a foundation created by the Center for the Study of Social Policy over the last ten years to stop child neglect and abuse (SCDSS, 2012)...
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...Structure is extremely important to any organization or business. Not every organization provides the same services or products; therefore not every organization is going to be structured the same way. According to University of Phoenix Achieving Excellence in the Management of Human Services Organizations, (2002), There are four organizational structures that human services agencies have adapted as what is known as the “Formal and the Informal Organizational Charts” These organizational structures are known as Departmentalization, Matrix organizations, the project team, and the collegial model. There are five ways that an organization can be departmentalized; by function, by process by market, by consumer/client and by geographic area. Departmentalization breaks the organization down into parts or different departments within the organization. The advantage to this organizational structure is that it breaks the organization down into smaller departments. This helps to ensure that the clients get the services they need and that they are not shuffled from worker to worker. It also makes things easier on the supervisors or managers when something needs to be addressed. As disadvantage to departmentalization is that some personnel might be trained in more than one area and being stuck doing the same thing can sometimes lead to them being unsatisfied in their employment. Matrix organizations are more flexible than departmentalization is. A big advantage to matrix organizations...
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...understand the effects of leadership, objectives, individual characteristics and action, and employee behavior and attitudes within an organization. It also explains the effects of internal environments, such as culture, the structure of the organization, resource and task allocation, and external environments such as competition or government regulation. These factors contribute to the performance, success or failure, and survival or fall of an organization. Organizational-behavior theories help to explain the collapse of Enron and how leadership, management, and organizational structure contributed to its failure. Organizational Structure With a market capitalization of nearly $74 billion, Enron was one of the world’s leading energy companies by the late 1990s. However, it had gained this status through the perpetration of illegal activities at the very highest levels of the organization. Enron’s fall was because of the organizational-level corruption that grew from its structure and trickled down to the collective behavior of its employees. Enron’s top-down, hierarchical structure by unit grouping meant that the top management team either directly or indirectly through their subordinates influenced the actions of the organization. For example, the structure of the accounting department allowed it to disregard legal requirements through “structural secrecy” that Enron’s executives could exploit (Beenen & Pinto, 2009, p. 283). As part of its strategy to grow its business, Enron’s...
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...college located in Upper Clapton, London in the United Kingdom. It officially opened in September 2002, giving students in Hackney the opportunity to study at a college close to where they live. It provides student courses for the right appropriate level. It provides a-level courses such as chemistry, maths and business. Tesco has a hierarchical structure because it has a lot of layers and a lot of people reporting into more than one person before that information get to the boss. A hierarchical structure has many levels. Each level is controlled by one person. A hierarchical company tends to be a very big company just like Tesco is. In a hierarchy instructions are generally passed down from one person to another until it gets to the bottom of the hierarchical structure. If there was a problem in a hierarchical structure it would move up through the structure again from one person to another until it gets to where it is supported to be. Strengths of a Hierarchical structure are that there is a close control of workers. Workers in Tesco will know exactly what they have to do so they don't wait around until they are told. This sort of structure allows the workers in Tesco to know precisely what they have to do so they don't hang around until they are told. There is clear authority and responsibility within the organisation that makes sure that everybody knows what they are undertaking and know...
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...Organizational Culture Assessment Instrument An organization is a social unit of people that is structured and managed to meet a need or to pursue collective goal. All organizations have a management structure that determines relationships between the different activities and the members, and subdivides and assigns roles, responsibilities, and authority to carry out different tasks. Organizations are open system they affect and are affected by their environment. In an organization, as per the structure of the organization and the industry requirements the organization internally may be divided into separate departments. These departments help delegating the work resulting into better accuracy. Inter connected and co dependant working departments result into better team dynamics making the department and the company as a whole better equipped to face the external environmental disturbances. Adaptation to the external environment, hierarchical structure, the participative nature of the employees in the activities within the organization constitute of the culture of the organization. Every organization has its own strengths and weaknesses and there always is a scope for improvement. Management professors, Kim S. Cameron & Robert E. Quinn of the University of Michigan, developed Organizational Culture Assessment Instrument (OCAI) to assess organizational culture. The tool assesses following six characteristics for corporate culture: • Dominant characteristics • Organizational...
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...logistics organization. An organization’s size might influence the organizing of logistics activities in the sense that there are limitations in the degree of specialization of managerial talent in small firms. 2. Compare and contrast the fragmented and unified logistical organizational structures. In a fragmented logistics structure, logistics activities are managed in multiple departments throughout an organization. In such a structure, it is possible for the various logistics activities to be managed in two, three, four, or more departments. Because effective and efficient logistics is predicated on a high degree of coordination among logistics activities, such coordination can become difficult when the logistics activities are spread throughout an organization. In a unified logistics structure, multiple logistics activities are combined into, and managed as, a single department. The unified structure can be further classified based on the number and type of activities assigned to the department. Regardless of how many, or what type, of logistics activities are managed, the unified logistics structure should be better positioned than the fragmented structure to achieve coordination across the various activities. 3. What are the differences between a centralized and a decentralized logistics department? A centralized logistics organization implies that the corporation...
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